


surrounded by heads and bodies

by athanasynt



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - It's a Wonderful Life Fusion, Angst, Crazy Azula (Avatar), Emotional Hurt, Everyone Needs A Hug, Existential Crisis, Firelord Azula (Avatar), Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, It's a Wonderful Life, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, POV Zuko (Avatar), Plot, Post-Canon, Post-War, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Spirits, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athanasynt/pseuds/athanasynt
Summary: Zuko finds himself in a parallel universe where he never existed, the Avatar is imprisoned, Azula is Fire Lord and the Fire Nation wins the war.And Zuko, being Zuko, tries to fix things.
Relationships: The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 165





	1. Enough

Restless nights and stressful days take a toll on the newly crowned Fire Lord. 

The Fire Nation is not forgiven easily for the Hundred Year war. Everyone is mostly tired and resigned, but even a dying flame has sparks. Happily ever afters don’t always happen because a story ends. 

If they happen at all.

Walking along the empty halls of the palace he used to live in seemingly eons ago, Zuko feels empty. After a long journey of feeling so much, he just feels nothing now. He thought he’d feel relaxed after the war ended - Happy even, but there’s just the indescribable feeling of too much yet too little weighing on his shoulders.

He should check up on his friends. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph, the legendary Team Avatar. He wonders if they share the same sentiment, though considering their childlike innocence, they probably don’t. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to be naive, the Fire Lord supposes. It would be nice to have someone to talk to.

Zuko finds himself in front of the turtleduck pond without even realising it. 

The moon shines overhead, lighting the pond enough for Zuko to see his reflection in the water. The place is near silent, with the exception of the occasional insect chirp. It’s serene.

The turtleducks are swimming peacefully, as turtleducks do. Stopping in his tracks, Zuko sits by the pond and thinks about life. More precisely, he thinks about his place in the universe.

Drawing circles in the grass absent-mindedly, he thinks about recent events, regrets and what-ifs. He hopes his brooding won’t become a nightly thing. 

A turtleduck quacks and surprises him out of his spiral of thoughts.

“Yeah, I should be going to bed,” grumbles the amber eyed boy. His eyes, one scarred, one still unscathed, show no emotion besides slight annoyance. “I don’t have any bread.” whispers the boy to the turtleducks amicably. The turtleducks do not respond.

He stands up slowly. He does not want to leave the pond.

“You’re lucky,” he mumbles, “You don’t have any responsibilities or regrets or stuff to worry about.” Zuko was glad no one was there to hear him talking to turtleducks.

A lone turtleduck waddles towards him and tilts its head.

“Yeah, you just stay in this pond and get fed by others,” he continues, “But you’re cute so it’s fine.”

It quacks as if it understands.

“Do you think I did enough?” Zuko asks softly.

But the turtleduck is just a turtleduck, and it cannot answer.

The pond is silent.

Zuko turns away.

Behind him, the winds roar. There is a flash of light, then Zuko looks back and sees white and feels his soul being ripped out of his body. He falls, hitting the warm ground with a thud.

The body is discovered the next day by a passing guard.

He was lying unconscious on the grass.


	2. Lies

‘Is this what it feels like?’

‘Has it finally come for me?’

‘Is this death?’

Falling, he was falling, he was tumbling into nothing. Zuko tried to reach out but it felt like using only his hand to stop a tsunami. There was no screaming as he fell, only a faint ringing in his ear. Finally, the boy readied for the last time he closed his eyes.

But they shot open.

There he was, next to the turtleduck pond as if nothing had happened.

Except it was morning, and the air reeked of smoke.

Groggily standing up with the help of a nearby tree, Zuko thought about what in the name of Agni could have possibly just happened. It didn’t feel like his fever dreams from Ba Sing Se, but it didn’t feel completely real either. He could just be overworked, but there was still no plausible reason as to why he felt lucid when he fell through the darkness.

“Halt!”

Zuko was in too much shock to reply. 

“State your presence in the palace,” A guard whose helmet covered his face commanded, “Well?”

“What…?” Zuko said weakly.

“Who are you and why are you here?” The guard brandished his sword, showing no emotion as he threatened the 16 year old.

‘This is either a terrible prank, an impostor guard, or me going insane,’ Zuko thought as he stared at the guard.

Raising his voice, the guard yelled, “Answer me, scum!”

‘Okay, not a prank. No one would dare do that even for a joke.’ Even if Zuko was a lenient ruler, no one would dare call the Fire Lord “scum”. He took a step back in shock.

“Look this is probably just some big misunderstanding. I’m Zuko.”

The guard didn’t move a muscle. With his sword still pointed at the confused Fire Lord, he said again, “State your presence in the palace.” 

“I’m Zuko for Agni’s sake,” The boy replied, “Lower your weapon.”

No reaction.

Zuko started to worry.

Before he could do anything else, two guards grabbed his arms and pinned him to the floor. One of them stabbed their finger in his neck and for the second time that day, Zuko passed out. As he fell to the once familiar grass, the same thought rang inside his head again and again.

'Something is wrong. Very wrong.’

His thoughts were confirmed when he woke up in the throne room and found the face of his hospitalised sister, Azula, on the Fire Nation throne looking almost as disheveled as the day he fought her, not even looking at him but frowning at his presence.

He would have preferred her monologuing about her victory and his defeat - Calling him Zuzu, a nickname once coated in honey now drenched in poison, gloating and glowering and looking at him like he was inferior but acknowledging him, talking about father like he was an unattainable treasure but knowing that he was not there for either of them. Anything, but the haunted words that came out of her mouth.

“Who are you and why did the guards find you in the palace? An assassin, maybe? Someone vying for the throne? I don’t actually care, you’re going to jail either way.” said Azula, not even bothering to fake interest.

His mind flashed to a memory he thought he let go of.

Azula always lies, Azula always lies, Azula always-

She wasn’t lying.

He didn’t know how he knew, but she felt so off and unmotivated. It was unnerving to say the least, but Zuko didn’t want to play along. He’d make her remember.

“Azula, I know you finally cracked but I don’t even know what you’re going to achieve with a scheme like this.” Zuko snapped.

Ignoring his comment, Azula, who Zuko realised was wearing the Fire Lord crown on her head, continued monotonously, “There is no ‘Zuko’ in the Fire Nation citizen record. Now answer me, are you a spy or a traitor?” She didn’t even blink.

“What are you talking about? Very funny, you took over the throne and now you’re pretending not to know me. Great, just great. Is the entire palace in on this? How did you escape the asylum? Seriously Azula, you beat me like you always do and now you’re just adding insult to injury.” Zuko screamed to deaf ears.

With a flick of her wrist, Fire Lord Azula told the guards to bring him away.

“Put him in high security, he’s quite obviously insane.” She spat.

Zuko panicked. He choked out as he was being taken away, “Lala, please. I’m your brother Zuzu.”

Azula glared at the begging boy, “I’m an only child.” She sneered.

There was no flash of recollection in her dull, amber eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek! Hope you guys enjoyed this, I had fun writing it. Sadly there's only one more pre-written chapter after this, and after I post it (I'll do it maybe tomorrow so you this fic gets a little more traction before it dies) updates will take way longer because I literally have 3 WIPs going on right now... I'm so sorry but well, it happens sometimes.


	3. Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, they make my day!

“How did she trick you into helping her! This is treason!” Zuko grunted as the guards silently led him away. Hands cuffed but not completely unmovable, he waited for an opening to fight back.

“Aang- The avatar will avenge me, you know it!” He said confidently.

A guard laughed. 

Zuko tensed.

“How can he help you? That foolish kid has been in jail since spring. If you’re lucky, your cell might be next to his. I guess you really are a bit off up there.” The laughing guard taunted as he pointed to his head. 

‘Something is very wrong.’ Echoes in Zuko’s head. 

Aang couldn’t have been captured. He was travelling with Katara last time Zuko checked. But… Now they’re saying he was captured since spring. It’s the end of summer and the start of autumn. Spring was when Aang broke out of the iceberg.

‘Everything is wrong.’ His mind supplies.

Azula was a good liar, that was true. But what did she get out of pretending Zuko never existed? She didn’t even laugh - Zuko thinks of Azula’s crazed eyes during their Agni Kai, then the dead eyes of Fire Lord Azula and he can’t decide which is worse. 

She looked at him as if he never existed.

Not even noticing he was shaking, Zuko did a flip and started firing fire blasts with fierce kicks. Now he just needed to run far, far away. The guards fell back for a mere second and got into a fighting stance. Zuko just needed a distraction now, and he could find a way to break his handcuffs later.

“You bastard! Don’t let him escape!” Yelled the lead guard. The guards simultaneously shot flames out of their palms, missing Zuko by a hair. He bounced back into a corner, leading the guards to him. With incredible timing, he flipped off the wall behind him and dashed away from the shocked guards. 

“I need to find out what happened,” Zuko panted between breaths, “Why doesn’t anyone remember me?”

Maybe Aang would remember.

Maybe this would turn out to be a bad dream.

Zuko sighed, “I need to find Aang.”

Slowing down once the guards were way out of his sight, Zuko realised he forgot to steal a key to break out of the handcuffs. Thankfully no one was near the outskirts of the prison. 

But the prison guards would notice eventually.

‘Stupid cuffs. Stupid Azula. I hate this. Why bother running away if you’re just going to get caught again. I just want to go back to the palace and not be arrested by my own people. At least I didn’t yell about being the Fire Lord. But if Azula’s the Fire Lord…’ Zuko’s train of thought trailed off.

He didn’t want to think about it.

Sitting down as low as possible and trying not to catch attention, he examined his wounds. His shoulder stung a bit from the guard’s grip, but overall nothing serious happened. In fact, he had more emotional scars than physical ones. Especially if the implications were true.

“No, he can’t be… The war ended. This can’t be happening.” he whispered to himself anxiously. Ozai was in prison, locked away forever. Aang saved the world and he ended the Hundred Year war. 

But Azula was crowned Fire Lord the day Ozai was supposed to become the Phoenix King.

Aang was captured by the Fire Nation.

‘And I’m not in any Fire Nation records,’ Zuko was staring at the ground somberly, ‘Azula doesn’t remember me.’

‘No one does.’

The ground suddenly became blurry. He felt the tears pour out of his eyes. All he wanted was a break but he found himself passing out next to a pond and the next thing he knew he was in a world where he had never existed. 

It was like a camera losing focus, but with his body. It just shut down, overwhelmed by the harsh reality of the situation. Curling into himself, he cried.

-  
“You probably can’t hear this, but…”

“It’s me, Katara. The whole gang is here, and we’re all really worried about you.”

“When you wake up I’m going to pummel you into the ground so you never overwork yourself again, Sparky!”

“Hey, he’ll make it. I know he can.”

“Wake up, Zuko.”

“Please.”

-  
Zuko awakens in an empty jail cell.


End file.
